The third change in our household involved Big Sister. She is about 2 1/2 and on March 7th, I decided No more diapers during the day at home! We are starting to Potty Train! I know that a lot of Moms won't agree with the method I've chosen, however based on my daughter's personality and behaviors I found the following to be the best for her and I would encourage all moms to research potty training methods and find the best for them and their child(ren).

I decided to let Big Sister run around bottomless (We have laminate floors that clean easily). I had tried this before when she was a bit younger and it failed miserably, she just didn't care. This time, however, she was more self aware and had been coming to me asking for diaper changes when she was wet or dirty.

I started the instant she woke up on March 7th. I sat her on the potty and asked her if she needed to go, which she didn't. I gave her some juice and by 10:45 she had her first accident. She let me know about it, but wasn't all that upset. By the third time she went potty on herself, she became embarrassed and was looking for an alternative. On the fourth time I caught her mid potty and rushed her over to her potty chair. Even though some of it ended up on the floor, I still praised her for the potty that made it into the potty chair. She loves stickers, so it was a BIG deal for her to earn stickers for her potty chair success.

I left her bottomless at home for a couple days and then decided to try to add some panties. My mom had bought her some cute Minnie Mouse panties so I decided to give them a try. She had a couple accidents in them and kept getting upset because she didn't understand why the pee was still coming out since she had something on her bottom. I tried to explain that she couldn't potty in the panties, but she just wasn't getting it.

I figured it was too far a jump so I put her in the Blueberry cloth trainers I had bought for her. I should have tried these in the first place, but jumped the gun. The trainers worked MUCH better. She could feel the wetness but there wasn't a huge puddle under her and she figured out that the wetness didn't feel good. After a couple days in the trainers she progressed so much better. She usually averages 1 or 2 accidents per day, some of which were my fault when I get busy and didn't pay attention to her asking for help to pull her panties down.

I normally put diapers on her for errands, but on the 18th I got brave and put her in panties during church. I was SO proud that she made it all through church and then went potty on the potty chair when we got home. She has been a quick learner and I am just so blessed that this method has really worked for her. I am hoping to have her completely potty trained by her 3rd birthday!

What method worked best to potty train your little one and at what age did you start him/her?

Have a wonderful day dear Followers!

So far this year we've gone through several changes at our house. The first, I explained in a previous post. The second, we decided to transition Little Sister from a crib to a Toddler Bed!

It took me a long while to decide to transition Big Sister. I think she was around 15 months when I busted open the box and put together her toddler bed. I just didn't want to give up my baby and a toddler bed meant she was a big girl. Big Sister adjusted to the change better than I could have ever imagined, so this time around with Little Sister I was hoping it would go just as smooth.

We were given a toddler bed and it has been sitting on the porch since I was pregnant with Little Sister. Little Sister was trying to climb things, which made Hubby and I a little nervous about the possibility of Little Sister deciding to climb out of her crib. So, on February 26th I washed off the toddler bed, brought it into the house, and set it up in Big Sister's room. I put a small desk lamp in the corner of the room on the dresser so that she wouldn't be scared of the new room since Big Sister's night light was burnt out and I needed to buy new bulbs.

Both girls had not had naps all day, which I did on purpose, I figured it would be easy to get them to go to sleep at bedtime even with the new change. I put Little Sister down first, she was a little restless so I gave her a bottle and stayed with her until she fell asleep. After I was sure Little Sister was asleep, I put Big Sister in her bed and tucked her in. Piece of cake, it went PERFECTLY!

The next day proved to be a little more difficult. I hadn't really figured out what I would do at nap time, but once Little Sister fell asleep I took her in and laid her down in her bed. Big Sister was awake but ready for a nap as well, so after about 30 minutes I put her down in her bed. Well, that was a bust. Big Sister decided she wasn't really ready for a nap, so she woke Little Sister up and they both were up for the rest of the day. Bedtime was okay, Big Sister crashed and burned and was out cold. This was good because Little Sister cried and cried for a while, even with me sitting next to her bed waiting for her to go to sleep.

The third day, I reexamined my nap time plan. I decided to let Big Sister skip her nap and just put Little Sister down in her bed during nap time. At bedtime Big Sister was exhausted and went right to sleep. I decided to turn off the lamp to see if the darkness would help Little Sister fall asleep better. It worked, I gave her a bottle and she rolled over and went right to sleep.

Fourth day, same as the third, it was a success however Little Sister fell out of bed at bedtime. I went in to put her back in bed. She whimpered a little from the fall but was easy to sooth right back to sleep.

Day 4 I crept in to take a photo of my Sleeping Beauties!

Day five was insane! Both the girls woke up in the morning really fussy but Big Sister was running a fever. I HAD to run into town so both girls skipped naps. At bedtime, Big Sister went to bed early. Little Sister went to bed smoothly but fell out of bed again. She went back to sleep well with a little soothing rub on her back. For some odd reason though, Big Sister woke up around midnight and decided to turn on the light. I went in and turned off the light and told her to go back to bed. I did this three times, but on the third time it woke up Little Sister. I was able to get Little Sister back bed and brought Big Sister out to the living room with me. Daddy agreed to stay up with her until she went to bed, I was glad because she didn't crash until 5:00AM!

From day six on we have had great success and no major issues getting the girls to take naps and go to bed. It kind on depends on the day as to what nap time is like. Little Sister usually goes down for a nap every day, unless we are running errands. Some days Big Sister will take her nap after Little Sister gets done with her nap or if she is really tired she will curl up on the couch and nap there. Little Sister has only fallen out of bed two times since the fifth night.

I have to admit that a couple of those early nights when we were first transitioning Little Sister, I REALLY wanted to just take her back to the crib in our bedroom. My hubby wasn't much help, he wanted me to bring her back into our room, especially when she kept crying that second night. I held my ground and worked through it and am SO happy about pushing forward. I know that other Moms out there have a much tougher time transitioning their little ones from a crib to a toddler bed, but my one piece of advice would be to stay strong and create a routine! It will get easier and you will be happy in the end!

How well did your little one transition and at what age did you decide to make the change to a toddler bed?

Have a wonderful night dear Followers and happy transitioning!

I had mentioned in a previous post that we are experiencing a lot of changes around our house. The first change started February 14th. As if I am not busy enough with the girls, I've decided to take classes to become a facilitator for a Batterer's Intervention Program (BIP) in our area. Our family has a great love and appreciation for animals and we believe strongly that in order to stop the abuse and neglect of domestic animals, you must intervene at the initial source. Many times people who abuse animals do so because they think it is okay and often learn this behavior from their parents. If a child watches his parents fight and sees one parent abuse the other they are 1500% more likely to abuse as an adult or become a victim.

Clients in the BIP learn valuable lessons about abuse and listening to their own conscience. The first part of my training involves sitting through classes as though I am a client. I have to admit that after listening to the others interact and tell their stories, I have an even greater appreciation for my husband and the life we live. Praise God I am where I am today and I didn't have to go through some of the tough life lessons some of these people have gone through!

Do you have any special causes that are close to your heart? Please share!

Have a great day dear followers!

Even though the year has barely begun, there have been a couple of changes in our world! Little Sister turned ONE and has moved from a crib in Mommy and Daddy's room to a toddler bed in Big Sister's room. Big Sister has started potty training, finally! I've started training to become a facilitator for a batterer's intervention program. AND we are in the progress of remodeling a new home and garden. Please stay tuned this week as I go into detail on all of our changes as well as give other moms some insight as to how to go about bedtime changes and potty training the Rural Mama way.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and check back Monday for a GIVEAWAY Post!

Have a wonderful night dear followers!